Have you ever found yourself struggling to think during the day, falling asleep at your desk or staring into space?

If you manage your time and rest appropriately during the day you will avoid these troughs in energy and become more efficient than a German engine powering a Kenyan marathon runner!

There are 3 key reasons why rest and relaxation are important in the workplace.

1. Improves productivity

If there is one thing I want you to take away from this article, it is that you must work smart, not hard!

Check out Parkinson’s Law which explains how people create work to fill the time available.

Emails are the most common form of time wasting. They become a Packman-like time predator, striving to eat up as many hours of your day as possible.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. I assure you, it is possible to achieve the same results in a 40 hour week than you can in a 60 hour week by being smart with time management, outsourcing, automating and eliminating.

This allows you to rest for longer periods, which in turn makes you a more efficient machine when your mind and body have recharged.

3. Be social

After a few solid hours of staring at your computer screen, it’s a good time to get up and have a chat with some of your co-workers.

Having some fun with those around you can break up the day and change the office atmosphere for the better.

If, like many others, you work in a small office environment without much opportunity for social interaction, perhaps find a local café to visit for a 20-minute break.

Studio 7.5, a small Berlin-based design firm, gathers employees for a home-cooked lunch at a communal table every day of the week – think how much closer you would be if everyone in your company came together like a family every day.

Alternatively, do you have a friend who works from home? Perfect! Invite them to meet you for lunch.

Catching up with a friend during the week will help remind you that your life is more than the four walls of your office.

These three articles are perfect for team building exercises, creating lasting relationships at work and how to be a great team leader:

4. Power nap

You should never feel guilty for getting some quality shut-eye while you’re ‘on the clock’.

The benefits of a power nap will quickly be reflected in the work you do.

After a power nap, you’ll notice that your concentration, memory recall, stamina and motor skills have all improved and that your stress levels are much lower.

Of course, not everyone can have a mid-day nap while everyone else is furiously typing away, but you can catch some judgement-free z’s on your break.

5. Be mindful of what you put in your body

A big contributor to revitalising your energy is your diet.

Many of us tend to snack at our desks and overload on coffee to give us that extra boost when we are lagging behind but we know that caffeine leads to an energy crash as it starts to wear off (see our article Eating Well To Reduce Illness).

Although no one should get in between you and your morning coffee, why not try the occasional cup of green tea and mint instead?